In Bulgaria, this bread is among many other food items on the dinner table at gatherings during the Christmas season. The traditional dinner table is decorated with a centerpiece bread with any of the numerous designs. I picked mine to be sunflower shaped bread. A coin is hidden in the bread and the person who gets the coin is deemed lucky. There are a lot of European cultures where the hidden coin tradition is followed. For Day 24 of this Mega Marathon, it is the letter X. Since X is a difficult letter to pick up recipes for, I used Xmas as a short form for Christmas and made a Christmas bread which can be a centerpiece for any festive occasion.

In a bowl of warm water, add sugar and yeast, mix well and set aside for 10 minutes until it froths up.In a stand mixer bowl, add flour, salt, vegetable oil and honey. Whisk well and add in the yeast solution.Knead into a soft and pliable dough.In a well oiled bowl, place the dough, cover and set aside in a warm place for the dough to double. [about 90 minutes].Punch the dough and knead for a minute or so on a well floured surface.Roll out the dough into a circle about 3/4 inch thick.I used a round plate about 8 inches in diameter to cut out a perfect circle. Removed the excess and set aside. [If you are skilled enough to roll out a perfect circle, then it is better to set aside a small portion of dough aside.]Transfer the circle of dough onto a parchment lined baking tray.

Mark a center point and make a 'plus shaped slit through the center to the outer edge leaving about an inch. Then make 2 more slits through the center to make 8 petals, so to say.[Refer the picture].Pull the 8 petals backwards and make the edges pointed.Roll out a circle with the small portion set aside earlier. Fit the circle in the middle of the petals and stretch it with your fingers to make a perfect fit.It should resemble a sunflower (!). Cover with cling wrap and set aside for 30-45 minutes for a second rise.Prick the center with a fork to release any air bubble, sprinkle black poppy seeds or black sesame seeds or like me use kalonji (onion seeds).Bake in a preheated oven at 375 °F. Bake until the crust is golden brown. I had to bake for 32 minutes.Remove and slice when it is still warm.Apply butter and enjoy the bread!